Meditation with Essential OilsMeditation is a practice where an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or for the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content,or as an end in itself.The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices that includes techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy or life force (qi, ki, prana, etc.) and develop compassion, love, patience, generosity, and forgiveness. A particularly ambitious form of meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration meant to enable its practitioner to enjoy an indestructible sense of well-being while engaging in any life activity.The word meditation carries different meanings in different contexts. Meditation has been practiced since antiquity as a component of numerous religious traditions and beliefs. Meditation often involves an internal effort to self-regulate the mind in some way. Meditation is often used to clear the mind and ease many health concerns, such as high blood pressure, depression, and anxiety. It may be done sitting, or in an active way—for instance, Buddhist monks involve awareness in their day-to-day activities as a form of mind-training. Prayer beads or other ritual objects are commonly used during meditation in order to keep track of or remind the practitioner about some aspect of that training. Meditation may involve generating an emotional state for the purpose of analyzing that state—such as anger, hatred, etc.—or cultivating a particular mental response to various phenomena, such as compassion. The term “meditation” can refer to the state itself, as well as to practices or techniques employed to cultivate the state. Meditation may also involve repeating a mantra and closing the eyes. The mantra is chosen based on its suitability to the individual meditator. Meditation has a calming effect and directs awareness inward until pure awareness is achieved, described as “being awake inside without being aware of anything except awareness itself.” In brief, there are dozens of specific styles of meditation practice, and many different types of activity commonly referred to as meditative practices. Meditation is a technique that we all can use at any time and place. We use it to quieten the mind and restore peace and harmony within ourselves. This has a profound effect on our outward life as well. Meditation intended, not to stop us thinking, but to help us to make order in and around our confusion. Relaxing our minds through meditation, enables us to clear the chattering for a time and experience a renewed sense of energy. This in return enables us to bring identity, clarity and freedom to take control over our lives and to become healthier and happier.Meditation can calm the body, mind, and spirit. It can help us to connect more deeply with the worlds around and within us. It has been shown to have physical health benefits including lower heart rate and lower levels of stress.In the most basic form of meditation, you quiet your conscious mind and drift on a cushion of inner peace. This cushion of inner peace comes from the absence of thought, within your head. If you haven’t realized already, you are thinking constantly from the moment you wake up, to the moment you go to sleep. Now, you may believe that sleeping is enough to rest your mind, and that may be true; however, your mind is not what you are resting here. What you are resting, when you meditate, is your consciousness. Also, you may be under the assumption that your consciousness gets rest while you sleep; except, that fact is even further from the truth! Your consciousness is more active when your body sleeps then when your body is awake. You merely are not capable of remembering all that your consciousness does while you sleep. So, the only way your consciousness is going to get that rest is if you consciously give it that rest, as you do when you meditate.Except, meditation does not only provide your consciousness with its needed break; meditation can achieve that and much more. The more is physical and spiritual healing, guidance, understanding, learning, energy, recharging, and even mental travel.Essential oils are complex, highly fragrant and volatile substances, with varying degrees of complexity, fragrance, and volatility. They are the most potent and concentrated extracts of various parts of flowers, fruits, leaves, spices, roots, and woods. The plant’s essence molecules are approximately 75 – 100 times more concentrated as an essential oil than in the dried plant.Essential oils are volatile by nature (most essential oils tend to evaporate or change to vapor quickly when exposed to air) and are soluble in fatty/vegetable oils. (called carrier oils). Since essential oils are often too potent to be used directly on the skin full strength, diluting an essential oil in a carrier oil is an excellent way to facilitate safe use of the essential oil. Essential oils, extracted from plants, possess distinctive therapeutic properties, which can be utilized to improve health and prevent disease. Once diluted essential oil is applied directly to the skin it is completely absorbed and penetrates deeply into the tissues, interstitial fluid and bloodstream. Different oils have varying rates of absorption, between 20 and 120 minutes. The plants, in order to conserve their most volatile substances, should be picked at a specific hour of the day and in a specific season of the year. The essential oils are produced with special techniques of infusion, expression and distillation and are excreted from special glands and pores of the plants. In general, the lower the distillation temperature and pressure the better the essential oils. They are usually colorless and should be stored in a cool, dry place tightly stoppered in glass containers.’

In the field of Aromatherapy it is held that in skin care essential oils regulate the activity of capillaries and restore vitality to the tissues. Essential oils are natural rejuvenating agents which facilitate the elimination of waste matter and dead cells and promote the regeneration of new and healthy cells. Inhaling an essential oil elicits an immediate olfactory response and provides for ready absorption in the bloodstream.’ Lowers contain the greatest amount of life force found in plants. Flower essences contain the energetic signature of the flower trapped in water through the use of sunlight. Each flower represents one or more qualities or emotions expressed by humans. The use of flower essences aids in balancing those qualities or emotions. This in turn aids in healing the physical issues caused by the imbalances. One of the beautiful qualities of flower essences is that they are self-regulating. This means a person can’t take too much. When an optimal level is reached, the body and energy field simply stops accepting the essence.Flower essences, however, work with all the subtle bodies, the physical body, and even higher spiritual energies. Regardless of the origin of the problem – physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual – flower essences can aid in healing.. Essential oils serve the same function in the plant as blood does in the human body. Their complex chemical constituents cleanse, protect, oxygenate, nourish, and offer many therapeutic benefits. Many therapeutic grade essential oils have anti parasitic, antibacterial, anti fungal, and antiviral properties.Essential oils have been used for thousands of years to treat physical and emotional ailments.

‘Essential Oils have historically been shown to calm and relax emotions as well as enhance focus, attention and memory. To understand this, first it is best to be familiar with the of lactation process.

The nose is a protrusion of the brain. Scent enters the body in less than one second and travels to the pituitary and hypothalamus to tell your body how to respond to a situation. It will help to relax or stimulate. This message is then sent to the rest of the body via the nervous system. Scent actually dictates how we taste. It is the only sense that does not have to go through the digestive tract or spinal cord to be processes. It immediately goes to the brain and elicits a response.

Fragrances have been an important part of rituals and meditations for ages in every culture around the world. The many different scents were believed to elevate users to different states of consciousness. And in our fast-paced, distracting world, sometimes we can use all the help we can get.

To use essential oils in meditation, you have several options: You can anoint yourself (try the third eye). You can create a mist (mix oils with water in a small spray bottle) and spray the fragrance in the air, or you can use a diffuser. I’m personally a fan of putting the oils on my body, particularly the third eye point. You may find a combination of methods work well.Proper use of essential oils during meditation can enhance the experience by grounding you and promoting a sense of calm.We can either use them by inhalation, pot them on our skin or use candle diffuse while we practice meditation.The steps we follow during the meditation with the Essential Oils is more or less as the normal way we do our meditation with the difference that we use essential oils for increasing our relaxation. Important thing is to find a quite place in our home,wear comfortable cloths,sit or take a posture which is most comfortable for us, with one word we remove anything which will distract our attention and calmness.We need to find a place where we won’t be interrupted.Switch off your phones, computers, television and any other gadget that may distract you.If we can, dim the lights and diffuse or directly inhale meditation oils like Clarity, StressAway, and InnerChild. Music can also add to a calming atmosphere. Next is to find our comfortable posture.If you choose to sit the place you choose to sit should be comfortable. Keep your back straight but make sure you’re relaxed and comfortable.If you are not comfortable sitting, lie down on your back on a flat surface. Relaxation is the key to effective meditation.Before starting, flex your toes and then release them, then do the same with your calves, thighs, buttocks, tummy, arms, shoulders, neck, head, and face.Try rolling back your shoulders to help straighten your back. Muscles tight? Mix a few drops of your favorite essential oils with V-6 Enhanced Vegetable Oil Complex and massage the area. The massage motion can help improve blood circulation and help relieve tension.Than we close our eyes and than we start with breathing process. Breathing is the foundation of meditation. If your mind begins to wander, you can always return to the breath to refocus yourself. Diffuse an essential oil with a calming aroma like Lavender or Frankincense, close your eyes, and breathe in deeply through your nose and allow your chest and stomach to expand as you are filling your body with nice, fresh air. Then exhale fully and slowly through your mouth, letting the air remove all negative energy from your body. Pay attention to the physical sensation of breathing: the cool air entering your nostrils, the expansion of your belly, and the warmness of the air leaving your body.

Make sure you designate a time each day to practice meditation. It doesn’t need to be long—even two minutes of meditation can be beneficial—but you must be consistent. Like any skill, meditation takes repetition and practice to master. The more consistent you are with it; the more benefits you will see.One of the keys to meditation is learning how to allow thoughts to come and go without judgement or emotion. This is also one of the most difficult parts to master. It is completely normal for your mind to start racing as soon as you try to calm it, so don’t try and block out everything that comes into your mind. Instead, let the thought come into your mind, acknowledge it, and let it go. You can get extra help focusing your mind by practicing guided meditation with an oil like Present Time. There are lot of achievements with the meditation with an Essential Oils on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. It will make us more relax and satisfied with our self, therefore to look at life and ourselves from another angle.The changes meditation can make to your life may be subtle at first, but over time can significantly increase your inner well being and happiness. Remember that everyone have their own way and approach to the meditation and it is different from others. Don’t get discouraged or frustrated if you don’t reach nirvana on your first go. As long as you stay consistent you will start to see progress and the benefits of giving your mind what he needs.

Essential oils like Vetiver, Sandalwood, Atlas Cedarwood, Palo Santo and Patchouli are considered grounding. Other oils like Clary Sage, Lavender and Roman Chamomile act as natural sedatives and can enhance the relaxed state of meditation. Oils like Helichrysum and Frankincense are said to enhance enlightenment and a spiritual connection with the divine. But the choice of the essential oil is depending from person to person and from what we want to achieve with meditation. Below is the list of the properties of different Essential Oils.

Roman Chamomile, Anthemus nobilis : Very relaxing, and can help with sleeplessness and anxiety. Also good for muscle aches and tension. Useful in treating wounds and infection.

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis: Very stimulating and uplifting, good to help mental stimulation as well as to stimulate the immune system. Very good for muscle aches and tension. Stimulating to the digestive system.

During meditation practice, the following essential oils can help create an atmosphere conducive to quiet relaxation that can help you transcend the details of day-to-day life, transporting you to a place of inner peace.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is very grounding. It is considered the oil of peace. With its earthy aroma and sedative properties, it can help quiet the mind during meditation. Patchouli’s primal scent is arousing and helps to dispel anxiety about sex; it is often used as an aphrodisiac. It is also calming and can help rebalance the body when stress has caused nervous exhaustion. It has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties that make it good for use in skin care. Patchouli can be used as an inhalant with a diffusor or on the skin with a carrier.

Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica), with its sweet, woody-balsamic, slightly camphorous scent, helps focus the mind and relieve anxiety, nervous tension, and stress. It is uplifting, strengthening, comforting, and grounding, and it helps to create balance. With every breath, cedarwood’s antiseptic properties protect the lungs against respiratory infections. It is a mucolytic (breaks down mucus), which makes it an excellent treatment for catarrhal conditions, especially chronic bronchitis.

The steam-distilled roots of vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) are restorative and help reconnect us to our roots. The aroma encourages a sense of inner strength and protection and is therefore grounding and nourishing. The musty-earth scent of vetiver is generally used as a base note when blending essential oils. It blends well with oils such as clary sage, jasmine, lavender, patchouli, and rose. Vetiver is antiseptic, antispasmodic, a sedative for the nervous system, a stimulant for the circulatory system, and a tonic that can be used for conditions such as arthritis, muscular aches and pains, rheumatism, sprains, stiffness, depression, insomnia, tension, and stress. It can also be used for skin conditions such as acne, cuts, oily skin, and wounds. Vetiver can be used as an inhalant, with a diffusor, or on the skin when mixed with a carrier oil.

Indian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) has an aroma that is warm, earthy, peaty, bittersweet, and woody. It is native to the Himalayan mountains and is also known as “nard.” It is one of the most ancient of aromatics, considered precious to the early Egyptian, Hebrew, and Hindu civilizations for both ritual and medicinal purposes. Mary Magdalene is said to have anointed the feet of Jesus with this oil before the Last Supper. In 1652 herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that spikenard “comforts the brain” and helps “passions and swooning of the heart.” Spikenard is in the same plant family as valerian and shares the intense, pungent scent of its sister root.

Sandalwood (Santalum album) essential oil is quickly becoming rare; it will be increasingly harder to find the real thing because of years of unsustainable over-harvesting practices. If you already have some of this sweet woody oil, keep it for sacred use such as meditation. It is a relaxing and meditative oil with sensual properties, soothing and comforting to body and mind. Sandalwood encourages feelings of well-being and has been used traditionally as an incense and perfume.

Frankincense resin (Boswellia carterii) aids in meditation, fortifying and quieting the mind. It is an excellent oil to use for respiratory conditions. Frankincense lifts the spirits, encourages feelings of well-being, produces heightened awareness of spiritual calm, reduces tension, and gives strength .

Meditation requires you to block out all your thoughts and internal chatter. These few moments of stillness lend clarity to your mind and facilitate inner calmness.

It helps connect your mind, body and soul.

The physical health benefits of meditation in controlling hypertension and stress are well documented.

Slows down the pulse rate

Calms the nervous system

Regulates the physiological functions of the body

Brings brain activity to a “sleep-like” state

Aromatics have been an integral part of spiritual and religious practices since time immemorial. Every religion, be it Eastern or Western, uses incense and aromas in its sacred rituals. The reasons for this go far beyond the pleasant smell. Botanical oils:

Help “prepare” the environment for meditation by demarcating the space for spiritual use.

Their psychological effects block out intrusive thoughts and day-to-day stresses so that the meditator can immerse fully in the exercise.

Slow down the pulse rate and breathing to induce relaxation and a deeper consciousness.

Improve mental clarity and concentration. Helps the meditator focus on the “NOW”.

The fragrance provides a focal point and keeps thoughts from straying away.